With a simple 10 point plan, you keep your heart fit and healthy

Switch off, move more, eat balanced and above all maintain social contacts: this keeps the pump fit. Here is the 10-point plan for a strong muscle.

1. Anti-stress cure

Anyone who is constantly energized feels overwhelmed. Living and working conditions appear uncontrollable and strain the body and the mind without a break. At this point , stress management strategies are used . By using methods of cognitive behavioral therapy, they first help identify stress triggers and harmful patterns of behavior.
Subsequently, the participants learn how to regain control over their lives, and develop individual strategies to meet their needs. They also learn to deal with negative feelings better. In the meantime, such training programs are also available as online courses, often being subsidized by statutory health insurance funds. Studies have shown that some programs, for example Get.On, help with depression.

2. Digital abstinence

For the beginning, it can help to not be constantly available. Those who are unconsciously in an ongoing alarm state can hardly switch off in everyday life. It is worthwhile to set times when you do not go to the phone. Also constant e-mail checking steers and eats attention. Sooner or later, this leads to an unsatisfactory working atmosphere – the best prerequisite for burn-out and heart problems. Make an agreement – perhaps only with yourself – at what time you read your electronic mail.

3. Better sleep

Chronic sleep deficiency reduces the ability to compensate for stress and anger , and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Do not let yourself be troubled by individual troubled nights. Check instead, if you have a healthy sleep pattern. How much sleep a person needs is different.
You can easily identify your needs with three questions: Do you need an alarm clock to wake up on time in the morning? Do you need coffee or other stimulants to cope with your daily tasks? Do you sleep much longer on working days than on working days? If the answer is yes, either sleep too little or at a time that does not correspond to your natural rhythm.

4. Adjust daily rhythm

If, like most people, you would rather go to bed and get up late, you can try to move your day rhythm a little forward . Set aside as much sunlight as you can in the morning, and turn off bright light sources, TVs and LED monitors ( yes, your smartphone ) as early as you can in the evening .

5. Exercise relaxation

In order to cope with psychological stress, the so-called MBSR technique (mindfulness-based stress reduction) helps. This is also confirmed by scientific studies. This is a multi-week training program, in which the participants learn to focus their attention in a targeted way. Repeated daily, the exercises work against fear, depression and chronic stress.
Other regularly practiced relaxation techniques help people who can turn off badly. It is not possible to predict which method (such as progressive muscle relaxation, Qi Gong, autogenic training ) is the best. The pragmatic recommendation, which includes the German Heart Foundation, for example, is to try out with which technique you feel comfortable. It is clear that anyone who applies such a method daily can reduce his blood pressure measurably.

6. Music for the heart

Sounds and sounds act directly in the brain. Melodies can slow the pulse, but also accelerate it. They have the potential to reduce blood pressure and stress hormone levels. Especially classical music is considered to be heart-friendly and favorable against fears and depression . Whether the clearance is long term, An attempt is worth it anyway.

7. Strength and perseverance

Heart medics recommend moderate endurance, combined with targeted strength training , to reduce blood pressure and increase the training rate. Training three times per week for at least 45 minutes can produce greater effects than with some blood pressure lowering drugs. In particular, people who are already suffering from heart disease benefit from the training, but then adapted to their individual resilience. Sportive people also recover more quickly from stressful episodes. The fact that regular movement also changes the body’s response to psychological stress has so far not been undoubtedly proven.

8. Healthy relationships

The most effective protection for heart and soul are loving relationships with other people. Whether a partner, a family or a friend: those who have a lot of social contacts, but who otherwise throw all the recommendations into the wind, lives on average longer than a loner who eats healthily, trains and does not smoke. The exchange with others gives us a good feeling. It protects against the impression of being alone with worries and helps to take a different perspective on one’s life.
This can be attentive people from the narrower environment, who warn if one is in trouble. However, you must be willing to engage in conversation. Not only the quality of the relationships is decisive, the number of positive contacts also has a protective effect. Take advantage of every opportunity to make new acquaintances. However, some relationship becomes a burden with time. Dare to speak to problems before they are no longer solvable. If necessary, use external help, for example a couple or family therapy.

9. Strengthening times

Whoever is able to view his life from a bird’s-eye perspective may see things for which he is blind in everyday life. Are there recurrent stresses? What can you change to reduce these stresses? Treat yourself regularly to times when you become aware of your wishes and goals. Also the search for meaning is not an esoteric spinning, but active burn-out prophylaxis.
Leave space in your life for something in which you are fully absorbed, for example, for an artistic activity, a hobby sport, or a social commitment. If you have such a fulfilling retreat, you can cope better with other stress. However, be careful not to overstretch your temporal or physical resources through additional activities.

10. Food for body and soul

The fact that nutrition affects health is now regarded as unquestionable in medicine. In particular for cardiovascular diseases clear results are available: Long-term studies have shown that both the Mediterranean diet and the so-called DASH diet from the USA reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke . In both cases, these are not strict dietary plans, but the basic frameworks for the diet: more vegetables, fruit and whole grain; Less salt, less fat meat and whole milk products; Instead regularly fish and vegetable oils that are rich in unsaturated fatty acids – for example, olive oil.
For several years, studies have shown that the diet also influences the mood. There are, for example, indications that the Mediterranean diet increases satisfaction and awareness. Moreover, it is documented extensively that different forms of fasting can raise spirits and occasionally lead to euphoria. What is unclear, however, is how long the effects persist and whether a modified diet is suitable for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders.

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